Iran hard-liners throng to rallies staged by state

Execute opposition, some cry

Demonstrators gather Tuesday outside the Iranian Embassy in London in support of anti-government activists in Iran. Security forces intensified their crackdown against the opposition with a wave of new arrests Tuesday.
Demonstrators gather Tuesday outside the Iranian Embassy in London in support of anti-government activists in Iran. Security forces intensified their crackdown against the opposition with a wave of new arrests Tuesday.

— Tens of thousands of hard-line government supporters turned out for state-sponsored rallies Wednesday, some of them calling for the execution of opposition leaders as Iran’s police chief threatened to show “no mercy” in crushing any new protests by the proreform movement.

Amid the pro-government fervor, Iran’s official news agency reported that the top two opposition leaders have fled the capital, Tehran. But a close relative of one of the men, Mahdi Karroubi, said the report by the IRNA news agency was wrong and that Karroubi and the other leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, were both at their homes in Tehran.

Pro-government rallies were staged in Shiraz, Arak, Qom and Tehran, among other cities. Demonstrators at a rally in Tehran chanted “Death to Mousavi,” a reference to the top opposition leader. Some shouted “Rioter hypocrites must be executed.”

The government gave all civil servants and employees a day off to attend the rallies and organized buses to transport groups of schoolchildren and supporters from outlying rural areas to the protests.

Cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda called opponents of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei supporters of Satan.

“Enemies of the leader, according to the Koran, belong to the party of Satan,” Alamolhoda told demonstrators in Tehran in comments broadcast on state TV. “Our war in the world is war against the opponents of the rule of the supreme leader.”

In an acknowledgment of the opposition’s impact, Khamenei said Wednesday that the country’s Islamic rulers have lost some supporters since the disputed presidential election in June first triggered the turmoil.

“The reality in the society is that as some [supporters] dropped out, twice that number joined [us],” he told the IRNA news agency.

Police chief Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam warned protesters to stay off the streets or face harsh consequences. At least eight people were killed in street violence Sunday, the country’s worst unrest since the aftermath of the June 12 election.

“In dealing with previous protests, police showed leniency. But given that these opponents are seeking to topple [the ruling system], there will be no mercy,” Moghaddam said, according to IRNA. “We will take severe action. The era of tolerance is over. Anyone attending such rallies will be crushed.”

One of those killed Sunday was the nephew of Mousavi. Iran’s deputy police chief said Ali Mousavi was assassinated by unidentified assailants and not killed by security forces.

Ali Mousavi was buried Wednesday in a hastily organized ceremony. Authorities had taken his body from the hospital earlier in the week in what was seen as an attempt to prevent the funeral from turning into another pro-opposition protest.

The opposition says Ali Mousavi was shot and killed by security forces. But Iran’s deputy police chief, Ahmad Reza Radan, was quoted by IRNA as saying that the way he was killed suggests he was assassinated while walking. The New York Times has quoted a family friend as saying he was run over by a vehicle outside his home in an assassination.

Iranian authorities faced questions about a graphic video broadcast on the Internet purportedly from Sunday’s demonstrations. It showed two white police pickups, with large bullbars on the front bumpers, plowing separately into a group of protesters.

One truck is first seen driving into the crowd, then reversing away from a body lying facedown on the asphalt. The second truck then speeds up and runs over the body, lying in a pool of blood, as people nearby cry out. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.

When asked about the video and whether police trucks intentionally ran over people, Moghaddam became enraged. “Don’t ask lies,” he said. “There are no pictures showing police cars running over people.” Information for this article was contributed by Eliane Engeler of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 5 on 12/31/2009

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